Teachers Service Commission normally extends their kind arms towards the teachers who works those regions duped to unfavorable to reside. The commission does so by offering an extra pat in terms of hardship allowances. However, there criteria that is used to determine whether a locality quality to be classified under Hardship areas. Amongst the conditions that are considered include the following:
Lack of or unavailability or inaccessibility to food
Inadequate transport and communication network
Limited basic social services and amenities
Persistent harsh climatic conditions like flooding, landslides and drought
Insecurity and high possibility of security threats.
Teachers working in these areas face a number of challenges. Lack of water,flooding and hostile living conditions are some of the difficulties these teachers have to endure in order to prosecute their mandate.
Late 2014, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, SRC, then led by Sarah Serem reviewed hardship allowance to be paid at a flat rate for all equivalent job groups. The Commission effectively abolished the pegging of the hardship allowance as a percentage of basic pay.
The table below summarizes the monthly hardship allowance rates that are paid to teachers working in hardship areas; per job group:
| S/No. | Grade | TSC Scale | Former Job Group | Hardship Allowance in Ksh. Per month |
| 1 | B5 | 5 | G | 6,600 |
| 2 | C1 | 6 | H | 8,200 |
| 3 | C2 | 7 | I | 10,900 |
| 4 | C3 | 8 | J | 12,300 |
| 5 | C4 | 9 | K | 14,650 |
| 6 | C5 | 10 | L | 17,100 |
| 7 | D1 | 11 | M | 27,300 |
| 8 | D2 | 12 | N | 27,300 |
| 9 | D3 | 13 | P | 31,500 |
| 10 | D4 | 14 | Q | 31,500 |
| 11 | D5 | 15 | R | 38,100 |
TSC designated hardship areas.
TSC has designated various areas as hardship. The areas considered as hardship include those that are prone to terrorism, famine and aridity. Currently, teachers teaching in schools located in some parts of the following counties receive monthly hardship allowances.
| S/No. | Area/County |
| 1 | Garissa county |
| 2 | Isiolo county |
| 3 | Kilifi county |
| 4 | Kwale county |
| 5 | Lamu county |
| 6 | Mandera county |
| 7 | Marsabit county |
| 8 | Narok county |
| 9 | Samburu county |
| 10 | Taita Taveta |
| 11 | Tana River county |
| 12 | Turkana county |
| 13 | Wajir county |
| 14 | West Pokot county |
